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Football

United States west coast tour 2009

FC Barcelona are set to go on a pre-season tour to the west coast of the United States in August when they will play three matches in front of their fervent supporters in that part of the world.

The Blaugrana has almost everything planned for the trip that will see the first team squad travel
across the Pond on July 29 and stay until August 9 as they have yet to line-up opposition for the
third encounter. Los Angeles will be the first city that will have the chance to see Barça in
action as they play there on August 1 before travelling north to Seattle for a game on August 5. A
third game is being worked on and details will be announced soon.

Three friendly games

In Los Angeles, the game will take place at the Pasadena Rose Bowl (5am CET) against
Los Angeles Galaxy, one of the most recognisable names from Major League Soccer, while in their
second game Barça will meet Seattle Sounders and the Qwest Field stadium (4.30am CET).

Fourth time Stateside

It will be the club's fourth trip to the United States on tour and the third consecutive time
that they will have done so in conjunction with MLS. The team's previous visits were i 2003, 2006
and 2008.

During the tour in 2006, FC Barcelona's games saw the highest average attendance of a
team ever in the USA with 80,734 people watching each of the three matches that were played in the
Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, the Reliant Stadium in Houston and Giants Stadium in New York.

In 2008, the team played games in Soldier Field in Chicao and in Giants Stadium, New York
when an average of 40,000 attended.

The two this year will see Barça play at two new venues when they appear at the Rose Bowl in
Pasadena and Qwest Field in Seattle.

Five-year deal

The tour to the United States forms part of the five-year agreement that FC Barcelona, the MLS and
SUM, the commercial arm of the MLS, signed in New Yrok in May last year and that guarantees the
presence and promotion of Barça in the American market, as well as the team playing several
friendlies there. The agreement saw Barça become the first European club to agree such an alliance.